Recently, the notification of the suicide by a patient with Lyme came across on a Lyme group I’m a member of. Unfortunately, this is not a rare occurrence. Lyme may not kill directly the way a disease like cancer does, but the hell it causes for the patients and their families makes suicide a common form of death for Lyme patients. Early in my battle with Lyme, I read this speech made by Joseph G. Jemsek, MD, FACP, AAHIVS made before the North Carolina Medical Board on July 20, 2006. It became deeply seared into my brain, and I have unfortunately found out firsthand how true it is:
Most of my HIV patients used to die ... now most don't ... Some still do, of course. My Lyme patients, the sickest ones, want to die but they can't. That's right, they want to die but they can't. The most common cause of death in Lyme disease is suicide. In the current day, if one compares HIV/AIDS to Lyme Borreliosis Complex patients in issues of 1) access to care, 2) current level of science, and 3) the levels of acceptance by doctors and the public, patients suffering with advanced Lyme Borreliosis Complex have an inferior quality of life compared to those with HIV/AIDS in NC. This statement may seem heretical to some of you, I'm sure. But I can say this with authority -- and I am really the only one in this room today who has the intellectual and experiential authority to do that.
I was in high school when HIV and AIDS were finally starting to be understood. One of my youth group leaders said to us at one point, “You kids don’t understand how big of a deal AIDS is going to be.” (We’ve all suspected that he died from AIDS-related cancer a few years after that, but for religious reasons, his true medical history was not given to the public.) AIDS was the most terrible disease anyone could imagine at that point. Yet only 20 years later with the rapid innovations in HIV treatment, a doctor who works with both HIV/AIDS and Lyme patients clearly states that the Lyme patients are the ones with the inferior quality of life.
Unfortunately, suicide is not uncommon among those with Lyme because the quality of life that Lyme and accompanying tick-borne diseases leave people with is so low. There are a variety of reasons that can lead to patients taking their own lives. First and foremost, Lyme causes horrible physical pain that leaves them living in a hellish existence. Many have difficulties finding doctors to prescribe adequate pain relief as they’re seen as drug seekers and/or because of restrictions due to the “war on drugs.” For many pain doctors who don’t understand late disseminated or chronic Lyme disease, they can’t tell nor do they believe how bad the pain really is. Getting treatment for Lyme disease itself is also difficult due to medical politics around Lyme disease. The nearest medical practitioner to Austin who openly treats Lyme is in a suburb outside Dallas; the second nearest doctor is in Louisiana and is over a six hour drive away. (There are others who practice covertly within Texas, but one won't find them on an internet search.) When I was first diagnosed with Lyme, my chemical sensitivities were too severe for me to be able to travel out of Austin to find treatment which greatly limited my options. For others, their difficult financial situations prevent travel and seeing doctors who are out-of-network. Many years ago, there was a nurse practitioner who used to openly treat Lyme in Austin, but she now practices in Washington, D.C. due to Texas Medical Board politics. Both the doctors who treat Lyme and the patients with Lyme suffer greatly due to these political issues when treatment is difficult to administer and receive. The fatigue that accompanies Lyme is debilitating for many. At the worst of the illness, I wanted to end my marriage, but I could not because I literally could not take care of myself. I required a caregiver to buy me food and prepare it for me quite often. I couldn’t drive myself to the doctor. I couldn’t walk to the mailbox to get my Netflix discs (before the days of streaming) to keep me entertained. If I’d left my husband, I would have lost custody of my children because I couldn't have taken care of them in any meaningful way. Without my children, I would have lost everything that was important to me at that point and I would have had no reason to keep living. Many Lyme patients are put on drug such as antipsychotics and antidepressants which carry suicide risk warnings. When I first began having severe Lyme related symptoms, my caring but misguided primary care provider decided I was suffering from postpartum depression and tried to convince me I needed an antidepressant. That is a fairly typical for most people who are dealing with the overwhelming symptoms of Lyme: Their doctors decide that this bizarre and long list of symptoms they are reporting must all be in their heads. Rather than pursuing testing and realistic solutions, the patients are put on drugs that have a potential to do more harm than good. The antidepressant that most doctors chose as a first line of defense is one that subsequent genetic testing has shown that my body cannot detoxify. Thus, taking that drug could have made me very ill or even suicidal. Lyme can also cause mineral imbalances that cause emotional instability: I've experienced this personally when a sudden zinc deficiency cause a severe round of depression and crying. Imbalances in brain chemistry can happen with Lyme patients as well. Unfortunately, most practitioners aren't looking to find these simple-to-treat causes of depression and so patients don’t get the supplements they need to remain stable. Likewise, the extreme lack of quality sleep that can accompany Lyme disease can lead to suicidal thoughts. During the worst years of the Lyme battle, I was only getting one hour stretches of sleep even though I was sleeping 12-16 hours a day. Continuous sleep deprivation can destroy one’s body and mind, creating all kinds of dysfunction. There's a good reason sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture. Soon after I was diagnosed with Lyme, a friend with Lyme warned me of a severe depression that can accompany Lyme dying off. Another patient with Lyme also talked to me about it at a later date. The toxins released during a Lyme die off create a depression which makes the entire universe seem blacker than black. It is dark and awful; it defies description in ways that are unspeakable because of how horrid it is. It in no way resembles situational depression or minor depression that most of us have experienced at some point in our lives. During the Lyme induced depression, nothing in one's thoughts is accurate. I always knew that the hellish blackness would only last 48-72 hours, but there were times when I wasn't sure I would be able to make it through those few days of complete darkness. It's not uncommon for friends and family to disappear into the woodwork over the course of a patient's Lyme struggles. When I first began having symptoms and had no diagnosis, many of my friends and family members didn't understand. Some did things that were physically harmful to me even though my ex-husband and I asked them to stop: They thought my chemical sensitivities were just delusions. Others thought the whole thing was delusional because surely no one could have as many symptoms as I was having and still have a normal CBC. They also falsely assumed that doctors can easily diagnose everything in this modern day. One of the default responses of people is that when they don't know what to do or don't know how to cope, they abandon the person in need. This happens all too often to Lyme patients who after years of suffering find themselves down to only a core group of friends who really care, and in some cases, they might not even have that. Financial ruin is not unusual for those with late disseminated Lyme disease. I was blessed to be married to a man who earns a very successful salary. He was able to keep supporting me when I was no longer contributing to the family economy. His job provided decent health insurance, and while it doesn’t cover anywhere near half of my medical expenses, it does still pay on some of them. I applied for and upon appeal received SSDI, but the cost of my Lyme-related treatment has been over twice what I receive from SSDI in most years, and that doesn't even include needing money to pay a mortgage or eating or any of those other pesky living experiences. Were it not for my ex-husband, I would not have been able to afford the treatments that got me well. Healthcare and wellness are still a privilege of the wealthy in this nation, not a universal right. When watching an ILADS conference video a few years, one of the keynote speakers, a doctor who was one of the best known in the field, told those attending something similar to the following: “If your patients didn’t have PTSD before they got Lyme, they will have it by the time they reach your office. They will have spent years and thousands of dollars going to doctors who don’t believe them and who can’t help them despite the fact that they have very real health problems.” The emotional distress of PTSD from health-related problems cannot be undervalued: It alone is enough to cause depression and suicidal idealization. This doesn't have to be, though, and it shouldn't be. If doctors were educated on Lyme treatment and insurance companies were willing to pay for it, the quality of the lives of patients with Lyme would increase rapidly. Instead, however, many Lyme patients are left broken, broke, and alone at the end of their battle. Is it any wonder that they choose suicide over a life of continuing struggle and pain? © 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC
In a sixth season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called “Relics,” Commander Will Riker is speaking with Captain Montgomery Scott, a.k.a. Scotty from the original Star Trek television series. As they examined a small shuttle that was being given to Scotty, Riker says, “She’s not much to look at.” Scotty replies, “Laddie, every woman has her own charm. You just have to know where to look for it.” There’s a great deal of wisdom in that statement, and not just about women. All people are all beautiful in their own ways.
However, our society creates ideals of popularity and beauty that are based on conformity, not individuality. From the moment we start school, we are expected to fall in line and do as all of our classmates are doing. We buy the same school supplies, the same Trapper Keepers, the same styles of clothing (if we aren't wearing uniforms), the same lunch boxes, the same cell phones… the list goes on and on. While we might pick different colors or patterns, the overall items are the same. We conform to peer pressure and want to buy the products that will make us fit in well. Likewise, our behavior and personalities are meant to conform to certain ideals. In my childhood, the teachers who embraced independent thinkers were rare. Most wanted students to behave according to certain standards and to think like the masses. Students who questioned authority or the “truth” that was being taught were not lauded. Instead, they are branded as trouble-makers. Most of the authority around me, including teachers and parents, wanted the next generation to be safely molded into the same form as they had been. Despite these attempts of our society to enforce conformity, we are all individuals. We are all different. And while our outsides “might not look like much,” we all are filled with our own charm and beauty. Through embracing our differences, we actually find ways of being ourselves. If we all were truly alike, life would be really boring! As you go about your day today, offer gratitude for one of your qualities that makes you different from others. Likewise, find a way to appreciate the differences in the people around you, whether at home, school or work. Even if you find those differences to be challenging, try to accept that those differences are challenges can make you grow as an individual. Through trying to appreciate the strengths we all have in our differences, we will find the world is a much more beautiful place than we normally think. © 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC
On many occasions, I have half-jokingly told people, “If you get a major disease, don’t get one that’s a political controversy. Get one that is well understood by science and that is supported by society.” In other words, don’t get Lyme disease!
The reasons that Lyme is such a political disease are long and multi-fold. This blog post is only meant to summarize some of the highlights so that people can have a basic understanding of why getting treatment for Lyme disease, especially late disseminated Lyme disease, can be so difficult. This post certainly does not represent all of the issues with the politics of Lyme, but it summarizes some of the highlights. The official agency which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about Lyme disease is the IDSA, the Infectious Diseases Society of America. From reports that I have read on the internet, the IDSA is the typical old boys’ club: Interested in sustaining its own interests, but not truly concerned with helping others. The majority of those on the panel that makes recommendations for Lyme treatment do not actually treat Lyme patients, nor are they willing to listen to those doctors who do. The group refuses to believe that chronic Lyme exists, instead insisting it is “just” post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. The Connecticut Attorney General’s office has led an investigation of the IDSA which concluded that the IDSA is a very challenged organization. Seven of the panel members who advise the CDC about Lyme policies and research have conflicts of interest in terms of financial holdings and Lyme; it was these anti-trust allegations that led to the Attorney General's investigation in the first place. The IDSA continues to endorse the two-tiered ELISA and Western blot Lyme tests for Lyme testing, possibly due to financial ties and connections. This is the inaccurate testing which resulted in my misdiagnosis of not having Lyme in 1994; since then it has become common knowledge that this testing has a 50% or higher false negative rate. That is an abysmal result rate for test accuracy, and no one doing statistics would consider it a valid result at all. However, because of the various interests of the IDSA board members, they continue to endorse this test and recommend it to the CDC. The IDSA’s “competition” is ILADS, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society. Their board members are scientists and doctors who treat patients or otherwise work with late disseminated Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. They recognize from experience that the four week course of doxycycline recommended by the IDSA is inadequate to treat Lyme disease which has not been detected within a short amount of time after the bite. ILADS also promotes research and education for physicians and researchers on Lyme and related diseases. Despite the scientific research and experience of ILADS, the CDC continues to deny that late disseminated Lyme disease even exists. LymeDisease.org recently administered a 10 day online survey on Lyme Disease to provide information for the ISDA and other confused practitioners; 6100 people who have Lyme or are caregivers for someone with Lyme responded to this survey including me. The resulting publication is amazing as it clearly demonstrates the devastating effects that late disseminated Lyme disease has on people even if the IDSA and CDC don’t want to believe this condition exists. To further complicate the issues of Lyme disease, the CDC’s treatment policy makes it difficult for patients to get adequate treatment. Because only four weeks of antibiotic treatment is recommended for a tick bite, the vast majority of physicians are unaware of how inadequate this treatment is for most patients who have late disseminated Lyme. The doctors then refuse to provide any other treatment that steps out of line with the CDC’s treatment protocol. As a result, many patients can’t find a doctor to treat them: The doctor who made my original Lyme Disease diagnosis in 2009 using IGeneX testing refused to treat me according to ILADS protocols because he was afraid of being reported to the state medical board for practicing experimental medicine. The threat of losing one’s medical license is a very real problem for Lyme practitioners. Because of the IDSA’s control over the CDC, the physicians who are willing to prescribe extended antibiotic regiments for face censure by their state licensing boards for not following standard protocol. This was a huge problem until recently in many states. The Connecticut legislature began the process of supporting physicians who follow ILADS and other experimental guidelines in 2009 with a law allowing doctors to treat late disseminated Lyme Disease with extended antibiotics. This began the process of similar legislation being passed in other states; many have Lyme laws up for consideration this year. Texas followed suit in 2011 after a long campaign by many devoted Lyme activists and sponsorship of the bill by a state senator who had suffered from Lyme himself and had experienced difficulty getting appropriate treatment. The Texas law forbids the punishment of medical practitioners treating Lyme with extended courses of antibitotics if they have completed adequate continuing education courses about Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. This has relieved the fears of some medical practitioners in Texas, and it allowed one previously censured Texas doctor to reopen his Lyme treatment practice. However, other Lyme practitioners had already been driven from the state and continue to practice elsewhere. In addition, many insurance companies are unwilling to pay for the extended treatment recommended by ILADS affiliated physicians. Despite studies and experience, the insurance companies cite the CDC’s policy and deem all other treatment experimental and therefore refuse to cover it. This leaves patients in a terrible place: Needing extensive treatment but having access to coverage for no more than four weeks of antibiotics. I have heard stories of Americans flying to Russia for treatment because it is cheaper than trying to get treatment in the US without adequate insurance coverage. Furthermore, the insurance companies will file complaints against doctors who practice under ILADS guidelines in an attempt to avoid paying patients’ treatment bills. If the insurance companies shut down the doctors’ practices, it short-circuits their problems with having to pay for treatment. The Texas Medical Board used to allow anonymous complaints which encouraged this type of practice not only for Lyme doctors but for many others as well. As a result, because many insurance companies value profit over human lives and/or quality of life, they attempt to prevent treatment in any way that will save them money. It’s a truly unethical position in my opinion. These issues are just the tip of the iceberg for the wider societal problems Lyme Disease patients face. Various researchers continue to demonstrate that ILADS’ policies on Lyme treatment are closer to the truth than the IDSA’s. However, the need to be right and rich overshadows the desire to help patients in most cases. The political battle for access to adequate treatment for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases continues while many people live their lives crippled by pain and misery. © 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC
One of the things that my empathic and intuitive abilities allow me to do is detect metaphysical energy problems in houses and other spaces such as offices. To quote a famous movie, I can sense when there is “a great disturbance in the Force.” My spiritual gifts allow me to do this both in person and remotely.
When my ex-husband moved into his new to him but previously owned house a year ago, I actually didn't think much about energy issues around it. The move was his choice, and I wasn't involved in the decision beyond the fact that we both wanted the house to be located within the bounds of a certain middle and high school so our kids could attend there. However, after my husband signed the deal but before he moved in, higher powers started trying to give me messages about the house. In general, my policy is that unless I have permission from a person, I do not receive messages for them. To me, it’s no different than reading someone’s mail or reading their diary. I just don’t do it because I think it is morally wrong. I do not have my ex-husband’s permission to receive messages for him, so I initially did not want to receive this message about his house. However, it became clear that the messenger was not going to leave. After reflecting upon the issue, what I realized was that my children were moving into that house (part-time), and I do have my own permission to receive messages for my underage children in regards to their safety. Hence, I took the message. What I was told about the house was that there was a strong negative energy in the downstairs master bedroom. It was clear that someone had died in that room of natural causes, but there was a lot of suffering before the death. That energy of suffering needed to be cleared out of the room to make the atmosphere feel better. I was shown the need to use sage and sound to clear the space. When I visited the space in person after the kids moved in and were giving me a house tour, sure enough, that energy was present in there, so I gave my ex-husband the message and materials to clean the space. He and the kids did the clearing together. I have only walked past that room since then without entering, but it now has an energy that is my ex-husband’s, not the previous owner’s. I was also shown that the workshop space in my ex-husband’s new garage had a nasty energy attached to it. This one felt sentient and as thought it was created or fed through anger. My guess is the previous occupant used his workshop for a stress release, but he didn't clean the anger out of the air in there. As a result, whatever energy was out there needed to be sent on its way using a variety of healing stones. This energy was nasty enough that I did not want my children anywhere near the space until it was cleared. I still have not gotten near this space in real life; the metaphysical experience was plenty. Last fall, my kids and I were out going to garage sales. We happened upon an estate sale where pretty much everything in the house had been tagged with prices, and buyers were allowed to wander freely to look at the items for sale. As we entered through the kitchen and wandered through the den and family room, I had no issues whatsoever. However, when we walked into the master bedroom, I lasted all of five seconds. I *had* to get out of that space because the energy was so oppressive. I can almost guarantee you that someone died a painful death in that room or if not, they spent a great deal of time in that room in pain before they died. Because I was so sensitive to it, I couldn't be in the room at all even though some time must have passed between the owner’s death and the estate sale. Clearly I was not asked my opinion nor did I give it, but I hope the new owners of the home have found a way to remove that energy from their bedroom. That is the kind of thing that can cause sleep disturbances or even create marital discord in the bedroom. If you ever encounter a room or building which you feel really uncomfortable in and need someone to help you figure out the issues, please contact me for assistance. I also can provide you with a sample of the report that my remote home viewing services result in. Because energy is energy, I can work on houses anywhere in the world without ever physically entering the space. I was at my own house, three miles away from my ex-husband’s house, when I was getting the messages for him. I have also done work for clients who live in other areas of Austin without ever needing to go into their houses. I have seen issues regarding a client’s house in New York when we were trying to pinpoint physical symptoms she was having. Wherever you live or work, I’m happy to assist you in finding ways to heal your space. © 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC
(While this post is atypical for this blog, in honor ofMay the 4th, I am sharing. Every once in a while I branch outside of my comfort zone to read a book or watch a movie that isn't my usual fare. In this case, I received a free copy of this book from a giveaway on Goodreads. The opinions shared are mine and mine alone.)
I have spent my life surrounded by engineers and future engineers. With those types, there usually comes a love of all things space, especially in regards to science fiction. As a result, I have gotten to see and enjoy many sci-fi series and movies that I might not otherwise have selected. That background came in very handy as I read The Space Hero’s Guide to Glory: How to Get Off Your Podunk Planet and Master the Final Frontier by Phil Hornshaw and Nick Hurwitch. As I laughed my way through the pages, I often thought of many friends and family members whom I knew would love this book. There are many ways one could describe the humor in this work: tongue-in-cheek, satirical, intellectual, and definitely warped. It’s not just the occasional great one-liner. The book is packed from start to finish with all kinds of amusement. One of my favorite lines in the book is about how “[b]ad hair, by contrast, has been the cause of every worst-Space scenario from mutiny to painful midtryst injury” (77). This line comes amid advice about space hero fashion and facial hair styles, truly important components to becoming a space hero. The book also did a great job of explaining what my ex referred to as “technobabble.” Working from theories such as Sir Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion and Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics, the authors endeavor to explain phenomenon such as photon torpedoes and warp drives. They actually did help me understand a few things I’d never tried to grasp before. They also helped me to contemplate ideas like using human feces as a shield against space radiation, something that never would have crossed my mind without the assistance of this book. While chapters 11 and 12 got a bit too science heavy for me, even the authors admit, “In all honesty, somewhere within this chapter is when most Space Hero recruits drop out and go live with their parents or start applying to grad schools” (147). The book is designed to look like a scuffed up pocket book. It’s the perfect size for a stocking stuffer for your favorite space nerd. While my aging eyes would have appreciated a larger font, that’s probably more my need for bifocals than a fault of the book itself! Some might find the profanity and sexual innuendos in the book inappropriate to share with teens, but I had no problem giving it to my teenage son who was impatiently waiting for me to finish reading it so he could have his turn. Readers will enjoy the book far more if they have a general familiarity of the space genre including canonical works such as Star Wars, Star Trek in its many incarnations, Firefly, Battlestar Gallactica, and more. I was able to quickly figure out where the back holes of my sci-fi viewing were! I highly recommend grabbing your towel and some freeze dried snacks before hunkering down with this highly entertaining contribution to science fiction. I finished it in only two evenings; my son polished it off in three. The book went to my ex-husband's house so he could take it as airplane reading on his last family trip. When I talked to the kids as they sat bored at DFW during a layover, they said their dad was fully absorbed into the book. It's small, funny, and a great distraction from the realities of life making it an ideal travel book even if the trip isn't out of this world! © 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC
There is a popular saying that if your date treats you well but doesn't treat the waiter well, then your date is probably not a person who will treat you well in the long run. Too often people will put on their best manners for show but their true personality can't be hidden for long.
A month ago, my kids and I went out to breakfast at a popular local restaurant to celebrate my youngest's birthday before school. We were eating and conversing when the waiter came by and picked up some plates we were done with. My older son instinctively said thank you to the waiter as he took a dish away. The waiter got a look of surprise on his face and said, “Wow! Great manners!” It shocked me that the waiter was so taken back by simple basic manners from a teenager. Since this waiter was training a new employee that day, I'm sure he'd waited on lots of tables himself before our meal. I hate to think that is just so rare for him to get a thank you from a teenager that he would actually comment on it. My ex-husband and I did the initial teaching with our kids when they were toddlers and preschoolers to help them to learn to say please and thank you. Since then, we haven't had to do anything. I am sure they picked up on the fact that they are supposed to thank waiters based on the modeling of my ex-husband and I always doing the same. For us, it's just common courtesy to say thank you to someone who helps you. I'm glad my kids have absorbed this habit. I wish the same was true for all other people out there. Today, consider going out of your way to thank someone who does something simple for you. The act may seem small, but the niceties we exchange can make a huge difference in someone's life. Feeling like someone appreciates you is really important. Gratitude is a simple way to make the world a better place. © 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC
Many years ago when I was founding my business, I struggled for a name that embraced the meaning which I wanted and which still had the .com URL available for it. I had my heart set on a name that encompassed the concept and/or word “listening” in some way because I see one of my most important tasks as listening both to clients and to higher powers. Since I couldn’t find a name that worked well for me, I did what any other modern woman would do: I turned to friends on Facebook.
Several discussions ensued as friends gave suggestions and I meditated on them. I honestly don’t remember how Green Heart Guidance came about, but when it did, the discussion was over for me. The name was perfect. When you hit on the right decision, your gut will tell you. Actually, your whole body will. There’s a happiness that spreads throughout that can’t be denied. When settling on Green Heart Guidance as my LLC name, I saw several reasons why it seemed so appropriate at the time. The first was the environmental stance I take. I am undeniably green in my heart in an eco-friendly sense. I help other people who want to change their lives by removing unnecessary synthetic chemicals to improve their lives and the planet’s well-being. The second ties into the chakra connection: The heart chakra is represented by green. Unlike our Western society which tends to present hearts as pink or red (reflecting the color of the actual organ), some Eastern spiritual traditions see the healthy heart chakra as a brilliant green. On my journey to beginning my business and to healing myself from Lyme, I had to do a great deal of work on my heart chakra. I believe that lessons about love are some of the most important ones that I have been struggling with for many recent centuries. In terms of my work, my heart chakra is also vitally important: I serve others from a place of love. Many of us have heard popular memes about our spirit animals; I believe we truly do have spirit animals who guide us. For me, my lifelong spirit animal has been an elephant. In the past few years, I have worked with several other animals as well. In addition to all of us having a spirit animal, I also believe we have a spirit flower and a spirit crystal. Up until a few years ago, my spirit flower was a lilac and my crystal was green aventurine. The heart logo on my website is made from green aventurine. (A different view is shown above.) Then, in a powerful shamanic journey a few years ago, my spirit guides changed my flower and my crystal. My initial reaction was not one of gratitude: I responded in frustration because I had just named a business after green aventurine and I was hesitant to give it up! However, I realized how powerful of a statement this was from my guides about the growth I had made at a soul level. The flowers and crystals that had represented and guided me in the first part of my life were no longer as relevant to me. Instead, a white calla lily (shown on the top of my blog) and a red ruby were my new flower and crystal. However, green aventurine is still an old friend who helps me as needed. In selecting the word guidance, I was searching for something that would convey assisting others. Because of legal implications, I did not want to use words like counseling which have implications that could make it seem I was representing myself as something I am not. However, guidance is a powerful word to describe the transactions that happen in my sessions with clients. I continue to love the name Green Heart Guidance and the symbols I have chosen for my business. I am grateful to the friends and the higher powers who helped the name come into being. Any time I see anything with my business name on it, I smile, and that tells me that I definitely made the right choice with this name. (Thanks to Molly of Green Hope Farm for prompting me to finally write this post. Their flower essences are among my favorites I use in my work!) © 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC
I shop at Whole Foods regularly, and at the location I visit most often, I have noticed that recently Instacart has taken over the first checkout lane near the door. I didn’t really consider using their services because I assumed they would be outrageously expensive, plus, I *love* grocery shopping. It’s a luxury to me. For the six years I was homebound, I missed shopping. I would occasionally make it to the Boggy Creek Farm stand when my health was returning, but for the most part, I couldn’t shop for myself due my severe chemical sensitivities. I was dependent on others, mostly my then-husband, for ensuring I had food to survive.
I used a local produce delivery service for a while many years ago, but the produce quality was declining, and the company was substituting local products for organic but continuing to charge organic prices. They also were substituting for items that I very specifically had said NO SUBSTITUTIONS on my standing order form. I had a phone conversation with the company owner; I found him to be arrogant and ignorant. He didn’t really seem to care about anything I was upset about, but he tried to convince me that local and organic were equivalent in the big picture. At that point, I canceled my subscription. I still cringe when I see that company’s delivery trucks on the streets of Austin because it was such a bad experience by the end. In recent weeks, my body has been weak because of the intensity of the medical treatment I have been undergoing. A friend suggested that I really should save my energy and use Instacart instead. Because of that bad experience with the produce delivery company, I was hesitant to try another delivery company’s services, but I decided that since the fridge was echoing, I needed to find some food before my kids rebelled. I didn’t want to tax a friend’s generosity again by having her take my teens shopping, so I plugged myself into Instacart while curled up on the couch. It took me quite a while to get my order together, but my preferences are now saved and ordering in the future will be very quick and easy in comparison to the first major trip (which was about 2 weeks of groceries for my family). Instacart offers the first delivery free, but it is courteous to tip the shoppers/drivers for their services despite the free delivery. I am a very generous tipper, yet it was less than if I’d paid a personal shopper to do the shopping for me. In addition, the company did the best job I’ve ever had when a friend or stranger bought me groceries. The programming allows one to indicate a substitution or not; the user can also add notes about any given item. If they don’t have an item listed but you know that the store carries it, you can request it and upload a picture to help the shopper find it. I had six items, five of which were fairly common, that I requested that weren’t in the database. The shopper was able to find them all for me. The only thing that I think needs some major improvement on the Instacart pages is that the produce selection shows what might possibly be available throughout the year, not what is actually in the store at this time of year. For example, Instacart had many organic stone fruits (peaches, plums, etc.) listed, but they are not yet in season or available in stores yet. When you check out online, you are able to indicate a one hour delivery window (or you can pick up at the store). I selected a 6-7 pm delivery time, and my driver texted just before 6:30 that she was on her way and would be there in 5-10 minutes. My kids helped her unload the car (though that was certainly not something she was expecting from her response). The driver was sweet and polite to the kids. She gave me a list of everything that they didn’t have as well as a kind note wishing me well. I was really thrilled with how well the whole process went. I subsequently logged in to see how much delivery charges would be if I had Instacart bring me groceries again after the “first one free.” For my local Whole Foods, the grocery prices are the same as the shelf prices at Whole Foods. Depending on the delivery time I selected, the delivery charge was between $2 and $8 total! I was shocked how low it was. Even with the tip for the driver, that still is an incredibly reasonable rate for the service provided. I was thrilled to discover this, and I will be using Instacart again. I regret not doing it sooner now that I’ve had such a great experience. Instacart also does shopping at Costco and another local grocery store which may come in handy for me. A friend of mine in New York uses FreshDirect for her grocery delivery. She has her health, but she despises grocery shopping. Instacart seems to be targeting most of their marketing toward “busy people” who don’t have time for shopping for groceries. However, I think Instacart missing out on a huge market: The chronically ill, the disabled, those undergoing medical treatment, and new parents. All of these populations have members who can use help with grocery shopping, if not regularly, at least on occasion. In addition, Instacart has gift cards which would be great gifts for someone whom you might want to help but who lives in another city or state. Most parents with a newborn (and especially those with twins or higher order multiples) would be happy to have someone else do the grocery shopping for them far more than they need another pair of baby booties! Overall, I am pleased to have found this new resource for assistance; I hope they continue to grow and thrive in the Austin area so that I can rely on their services for years to come. © 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC |
Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D.
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